Merry Christmas #1!

Christmas with Grammy is tomorrow so this holiday is most certainly not yet over but what a start we had on the Day Itself!

We woke up at home and did a couple presents.  Fiona was RAWther interested in this big one so got to open a wooden dollhouse.  

Then we loaded up our stuff and headed up the lake to Aurora to Grandpa Rick and CB and Uncle Nick's house.

"I don't think I understand you.  NOTHING in this box is for me?"

By the end of the morning Fiona was in the full swing of things, wearing bows, watching present opening, drinking egg nog, and tearing paper.  It was entirely clear to us that we should open one of her presents every week for half a year instead of loading them on in a day.  I think it blew her mind. 

An elephant wrestling session cleared everyone's minds. 

She thought Uncle Nick putting his snowboard bindings on was pretty fascinating.  

This is not a reflection on her character.  She was absolutely wonderful to be with all day. 

We had a relaxed and loving day filled with generosity and locally raised meat.

Everyone was pretty spent by the end of the day.

Since I was working on Boxing Day we headed home to sleep.

Here's a mundane but endearing clip from Christmas Eve lunch.

The goose is getting fat!

Helping Grammy put up new birdfeeders.

Modeling her amazing new stocking from my mom.  

This kid's a book fiend.

But who doesn't love Richard Scarry?

Hanging out on the porch slide with festive wreath.

Thanks for the jacket, Carter!

Oh boy, oh boy, Christmas is great.  

Aaahhhh SHOOT!

Happy 19-month birthday, Squirty!

Working on exclamations with yogurt.

Trains, trees, snowballs, pony tails, and manners.

I've been sick this week (I missed THREE days of work! Can't remember the last time.), producing record amounts of snot.  I can hardly stay awake to type this at 7:48pm but it's been too long and a lot has happened.

We got a train set, courtesy of Grammy and the Ithaca Craigslist community and Nick and Fiona spent some time there together.  I can hardly stand the cuteness with which Fiona calls all her trains, "Thomees".   I think of this partly as exposure therapy and I think it's working.  She cries less readily when she hears the ACTUAL coal train passing outside.  We wave hello to Thomees.

Beautiful light out at Moore's Christmas Tree Farm in Lansing

Last weekend we spent down in Pennsylvania on a beautiful preserve where a friend from my post-bacc (aka "oops, I wasn't pre-med") program has a house.  Eight adults, a wonderful Golden named Hamilton "Hammy!", and four kiddos (oh, and that moose head on the wall) bunked up for the weekend and played and ate and adored each other and the dog.  

We performed child sacrificial rituals.  

Maisie (3 and a ballet student) had glow-in-the-dark skeleton PJs and, after soaking up some light, performed plies in the dark kitchen.  Pretty magical.  

Judy and Anton gave Fiona a set of tiny books about animals which she loves and reads to her friends.  

Unlike last year when we propped her in a bumbo and shoved a tiny horn in her mouth to make her appear festive, she's getting into fun Christmas stuff this year.  

The Santa hat is a hit.  

As is apple sauce.  

Look at these rosy-cheeked children stuffing their cute little faces!

No storm could keep us from the first Christmas party of the year at Dre and Karen's.  

There we discovered I am very bad at guessing the number of M&Ms in a jar and Fiona likes almond milk, especially when drinking it next to Oliver. 

"Hep?"

"Sure!"

Snowballs are fun. 

Warmed up and cozy in pony tails and leg warmers.

OK.  Did it.  

Oh, and school is going great.  She's had 4 full half-days at Montessori and seems happy and confident.  According to her daily toddler reports she's been focusing on her "pouring work" and having "much success".  She reportedly also said, "Excuse me" after coughing and "help, please" which I think they made up because we don't emphasize manners at home.  For instance, we celebrated a verbal victory when she strung together "poop" and "butt" for a 2-word phrase.  Genius!